What have I done?
by cowardly-lioness
Summary: After Mary Margaret is released from jail, Emma hopes to spend some free time with Henry - but something is wrong. Story follows Emma's relationship with all important people in her life: Henry, Mary Margaret, David and possibly a special someone...
1. Chapter 1: Case Closed

It was a Sunday, and though Regina would be home, it was really the only time she could see Henry.

As Sheriff, Emma had been forced to do a lot of paperwork this week when someone who had been missing and apparently dead turned up in the parking lot of Granny's, somehow alive and well. Okay, _well_ was a relative term, but she was definitely alive.

She had first been in charge of getting Katherine's statement as to what had happened to her in the time she had been gone, but that job seemed to be a lost cause when Katherine claimed to have amnesia and was instead taken to the hospital to be examined for injuries that might have caused the amnesia. In other words, she had no idea what had happened to her.

Next, Emma was swamped with paperwork, filing to drop the charges against Mary Margaret as the 'murder' she had been charged with had apparently never occurred. Everyone was beyond confused at this turn of events and the paperwork was therefore quite complicated. It was difficult, after all, to write up a plausible explanation as to how a missing person's heart could be found in a box and yet a few days later that very person could turn up, heart in chest, beating. Emma issued more tests on the specimen. Even if it wasn't Katherine's, _someone_ was missing a heart and it was still important to find out who that was. It was gory work, and had taken all week to complete. She had even had to come in yesterday to make sure that no one had filed a missing persons report recently for Storybrook or any of the surrounding areas (not that anyone ever came to Storybrook, by accident or on purpose).

But now it was Sunday, the investigation was on hold until more information could be obtained, and she wanted to at least try to see Henry, even if Regina forbade it. Putting her car into park on the side of the street, Emma walked up the driveway to the mayor's house. She rang the doorbell and prayed for Regina to be in a good mood today (was that ever the case?)

The mayor opened the door. Odd, usually Henry raced down the stairs to beat her to the door.

"Sheriff Swan, can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you'd let me see Henry today. I've been so busy with the whole Katherine debacle and I'd really like to see him now that I have a day off."

Regina grinned in a way that made Emma dread what news Regina was going to give her.

"Henry doesn't want to see you," Regina replied, gleefully.

"What?"

"You heard me, now please leave."

Frustrated with Regina, Emma walked down the driveway and back to her car. She could find another time to see Henry if Regina was going to be difficult; there was no point in starting something with Regina. As she turned back to the house, however, she saw Henry gazing out of the window at her. As they looked at each other, she saw in his eyes an emotion she'd never seen from him before: betrayal.

Regina really hadn't been lying. Henry wanted nothing to do with her. But the question was –why?


	2. Chapter 2: Realizations

Emma got in her car and drove away, but she didn't feel like going home. After a few minutes of aimless driving, she wound up at Granny's. As she down in the first free booth she saw, she took a small notepad out of her jacket pocket. She needed to find out why Henry was avoiding her. Ordering a hot chocolate with cinnamon, she opened the notepad and started brainstorming.

As soon as Ruby left, someone slid into the booth across from her. She looked up expectantly, hoping it was Henry. No, it was most certainly _not_.

"What seems to be troubling you Miss Swan?"

Emma stood up, suddenly on her guard. "What are you doing here?"

"Really, what are you going to do, make me leave Granny's? What have I ever done to hurt you?"

"Besides drugging me, kidnapping me, holding me at gunpoint, tying up my friend and making me sew you another of your ridiculous hats, you mean?"

"Ah, that. Well, water under the bridge shall we say? Desperate situations call for desperate measures. Who's to say you wouldn't have acted similarly in my place? I've seen you with Henry..."

At the mention of Henry, Emma suddenly looked away, a fact which did not escape Jefferson's notice.

"Henry, is it? That's what is troubling you then?"

"That's none of your business. And while I may not be able to press charges due to the fact that I don't want to call attention to Mary Margaret's prison break, mark my words Jefferson: _you and I are __**not **__ok."_

"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss me as an ally, Emma. Whether you believe it or not, I am a father and I know how children's minds work, something with which I doubt you have much experience, no matter how well-intentioned you are. Let's see. My daughter would be the most upset with me when I broke a promise to her, which I endeavored to do as little as possible, because I hated the way she looked at me when she lost faith in me."

Jefferson got a faraway look on his face and paused momentarily. Emma thought hard. Had she failed to fulfil a promise to Henry? No, she always met with him when she said she would, she worked hard to get Mary Margaret out of prison when he asked her to…

Breaking out of his trance, Jefferson fiddled with a napkin on the table. "Well, if it wasn't breaking a promise, you most certainly did something to weaken his faith in you. I think you know that though. Nothing upsets a parent more than when their child doesn't trust them. It feels as though the whole bond is broken, and you'll do anything you can to repair it."

Emma slopped her hot chocolate on her shirt. "Damn, you're right. I can only think of one thing that would cause him to stop trusting me." She wasn't sure why she was telling Jefferson this, of all people, but she felt she had reached a conclusion and needed to think it through.

"I lied to him once, just once. He… he asked about his father. I didn't know what to say, so I lied. He's so young. Sometimes he seems older and more mature than any 10 year old should be, but he isn't ready to hear that story yet."

Jefferson had been listening patiently, seeming in all respects, well, _normal. _For once.

"A mother knows best. If you felt he wasn't ready for the truth - and maybe you weren't either – then you were probably right. Though, perhaps you should have just told him so and not made something up."

"I didn't want him to snoop. I knew if I didn't tell him, he'd find out some other way. He's very resourceful. I figured if I told him something, he would accept it, and not look for anything."

"Well, Emma there's one amazing thing about children: they're very forgiving. This isn't something you can't work out."

"I never thought I'd say this but… thanks."

"No problem. And Emma, he might not be ready for the truth about his paternity yet, but don't be afraid to get close to him. You don't need to keep him at arm's length."

"I…didn't even realize that I was."

"Of course you are; you don't take him seriously. You may care about him, but you don't give him a chance to show you what he's capable of. Don't dismiss his ideas, he's looking for acceptance and I think you're the only one that can give that to him."

"Are you talking about his fairy tales?" Emma looked skeptical. Just when she thought he could be a normal person, sort of.

"Sure, when I have a tea party with my daughter, I don't just pretend Mr. Turtle and Mr. Rabbit are alive. She would know I was just pretending and with pretend, your heart isn't in it. Kids can tell. No, for those few moments, I would believe the unbelievable. And you know what? There's nothing else I'd rather be doing at that time than experiencing all the possibilities my daughter dreams up, with an open mind and an open heart. One of the reasons he probably hates the mayor so much is that she doesn't believe in him."

"I believe _in_ him, that's different."

"Is it?"

Suddenly a voice came from beside the booth: "Spoken like a true father."

Emma turned, it was Mary Margaret. Jefferson looked a Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret suddenly realized who Emma was talking to.

"Oh _you!_" She looked disgusted. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be locked up or something?"

"Isn't that what people said about you, just the other day?" Jefferson shot back. Clearly there was still some animosity there.

When Mary Margaret couldn't think of a response Jefferson continued: "Appearances aren't everything, my dear Snow White. Sometimes people are just misunderstood, don't you agree?"

Emma felt the need to break up the tension. "Mary Margaret, what brings you here? I thought you were going to the school to pick up those Math Tests you needed to grade?"

"I was. I was on my way there when I saw Henry walking to the park alone. He looked pretty glum. I thought you were going to spend time with him today?"

Emma stood up. "He's at the park? Alone? Not with Regina?"

Mary Margaret laughed bitterly. "When does Regina ever spend time playing with Henry?"

Emma suddenly took off, presumably to catch Henry.

"Mary Margaret, _please_, sit. There's something I've been meaning to ask you: where _did_ you learn how to kick so well?" The corners of Jefferson's mouth turned up into something resembling a smile, but which somehow turned out to be quite frightening.


	3. Chapter 3: Making Amends

Emma didn't bother with her car. She'd left her keys in her jacket pocket which was still in the booth at Granny's, but she'd worry about that later. The park wasn't too far and she could get there almost as fast by foot. She quickened her pace as she got reached the dirt path to the park, nervous about seeing Henry – she had no idea what she was going to say.

It was a Sunday, and since Regina had built the fancy playground, it was quite a popular hangout for the children of Storybrook. While Henry had a few friends at school, he was shy and not exactly the type to start a game of Grounders, or whatever it was kids these days played on playgrounds. So, rather than searching the playground itself, Emma scanned the benches. Most of the benches appeared to be taken up by parents watching their children though. Finally she spotted Henry sitting down under a tree, caught up in his book just as she suspected. Slowly, timidly, Emma approached Henry.

As she got closer Henry suddenly looked up and closed his book. She gave him a chance to speak first, taking a seat on the grass in front of him.

When he realized she wasn't going to say anything, Henry looked into her eyes. He looked miserable and Emma felt a pang of guilt in her chest.

"I don't want to see you Emma. I really thought I could trust you and then you went and lied to me about something as important as my dad? Just go away, please. I'll carry out Operation Cobra on my own from now on."

"I thought this might be about that. Listen Henry if it helps, I swear that's the only thing I've ever lied to you about, and I hated doing it. I just knew that if I didn't give you an answer you'd go looking for one, and I don't think either of us is ready for that right now. We're still just getting to know each other and your father is…well he's a long story. How did you even find out?"

"Regina left her office unlocked yesterday. I went inside and managed to find my adoption record in her filing cabinet. She walked in before I got to read it and got angry. I had to explain that I only wanted to read more about my dad. She said why would I even care about him and I said I wanted to be a firefighter like him, that he was a hero but had died before I got to meet him. She laughed and told me that my father was no firefighter or hero for that matter and asked if you were the one that told me this lie."

He looked down at the book, closed on his lap. He wasn't crying but Emma suspected he was close to tears. She couldn't bear it; the fact that she'd been responsible for his pain nearly brought her to tears and this was saying something as she wasn't someone that cried often.

"Henry I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the truth, but honestly you asked me so suddenly and it caught me off- guard. The truth is: I'm not ready to tell you the truth yet."

Henry gave her questioning look.

"Kid, I'm sorry. I've grown real fond of you ever since you turned up on my doorstep and forced me to come to this strange town and I don't regret a moment I've spent getting to know you. The fact of the matter is, I've never really had any close friends or family and you are the only person I've really come to care about. I'm just not that great about opening up to people. It will take some time, but I promise, I _will _tell you the truth someday, maybe when you're a bit older. Until then, I'm begging you to stick with me. I will do anything it takes to gain your trust again."

Henry considered this. He did that adorable thing where he tilted his head whenever he was thinking deeply. "Anything eh?" He grinned mischievously, all hurt feelings forgotten for now.

Emma looked at him and couldn't help but smile back. His happiness and hope was contagious, even though she knew what was coming.

"Well then you're going to have to spend your weekends digging deeper into Operation Cobra. I have a few hunches I'm working on and I could your helping looking into them, _Sheriff._"

Despite her misgivings about Henry's obsession with fairytale characters, it was what he wanted to spend his time doing with her. And Emma had come to realize she'd do whatever it took to keep her relationship with Henry. She was growing rather attached to this kid.

She stuck her hand out. "Deal." Henry put his small hand in hers and shook it, grinning broadly.

"I better get home now before Regina gets back, but you should know that she has meetings with the Town Council every Sunday from 11am-1pm. That's where she is now."

"Okay, then I'll see you every Sunday here at 11am from now on. And I'm sure we can find other times, Regina is a busy woman, after all."

"Sounds good to me. And for the record, Emma, my birthday is coming up – I'll be 11 soon, that's pretty old right..?"

Emma smiled and shook her head at Henry's persistence.

"Ok I know I might not win 'Mother of the Year' but kid, I know when you were _born_. April 30th, 2002 at 11:59pm. You just didn't seem to want to be born in May. "

"11:59pm? I never knew that." He bent his head and pulled his sleeve up to look at his watch. He pressed a few buttons and looked up with a smile. "Set my alarm, so I'll be awake at the exact minute of my Birthday."

Emma pulled out her phone and set her alarm as well. "Me too, I'll be thinking of you. Now come on, let me walk you home before Regina gets mad". She fell into step beside her son.


	4. Chapter 4: Relating to a Madman

Mary Margaret stared at Jefferson.

"You have _got _to be kidding me. The last time I was sitting in your presence was only because you tied me to a chair."

"That can be arranged."

She looked at him with disgust and turned on her heel to leave.

"Wait."

She turned back to face him, hand on her hip.

"Please hear me out. I'm unarmed, we're in a public place and I have unfinished business with you."

She took a hesitant step closer but did not sit down.

"Is this about me kicking you out of the window? Look, I have _no_ idea how you survived that fall- apparently unharmed by the looks of things – but you were trying to kill Emma so I think it was well-deserved."

"Oh no doubt, no doubt. We are all capable of incredible feats when a loved one is in danger. Have you heard of the woman who lifted a car to save her son? Well, this that's beside the point but I think we can all agree I needed a good hard kick."

At this he winked at Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret crossed her arms and marched over to the booth, sitting down and glaring at him defiantly.

"Listen mister, I don't know _what_ your game is, but you stay away from Emma and me, you hear?"

Jefferson sighed and looked up at her through his dark eyelashes.

"That's just it though. I wanted to tell you that I mean you no harm. Nor Emma, for that matter."

"Well you've got a funny way of showing it then. Kidnapping, drugging and holding us at gunpoint."

Jefferson rolled his eyes.

"You girls just keep focusing on my negative qualities. What about my persistence, determination and great hair? No, _those _all go unnoticed."

"You're _seriously_ going to downplay the events of the other night? You know what; you're even crazier than I thought. I'm leaving."

Jefferson looked down at the table as Mary Margaret got up. Without looking up, he asked, "Mary Margaret, do you have a kid?"

Mary Margaret paused; his question had caught her off-guard.

"N-no. Well, I might not be a parent but I am a teacher. In some ways I feel like I'm a parent to two dozen kids."

"That's different. You care about them, I get that, but is there any one of them you would do anything for? I mean _anything_. Things people might judge you for? Things you wouldn't dream of doing normally? Crazy things?"

Mary Margaret knew she should have said no. Though she had recently been released from prison and had tried (mostly in vain) to convince everyone that she would never lay a hand on anyone, she knew that wasn't exactly the case. She thought of Henry. Teachers weren't supposed to have favorites, and she didn't, not exactly. He got no preferential treatment or better grades than the other kids. But something about him made him seem more like family than a student. She realized then that when it came to Henry, there wasn't much she wouldn't do to ensure his wellbeing. Was it because he was Emma's kid? Emma had called her family just the other day. If that was the case then Henry was, by some extension, her family too. She finally looked at Jefferson, who was watching her, begging her with his eyes to understand.

"I guess, if Henry was ever in trouble, I'd be willing to doing some pretty unspeakable things to make sure he was okay. And if he was ever separated from Emma I think she'd do whatever it takes to get him back. But I still don't see how harming Emma helped your cause?"

Jefferson looked at her, fiddling with the napkin on the table again. He couldn't explain this, not to her. If Emma didn't even believe him then Mary Margaret never would.

"Emma's the sheriff of Storybrooke; I needed her help. Beyond that I can't tell you much, you wouldn't understand. But if you see Emma again, please tell her I'm sorry and that despite her misgivings about me and my crazy ideas, I hope someday she can see me for who I really am. And tell her she _was_ able to help me, more than she knows."

With that cryptic message, he stood up, took his hat from beside him on the seat, twirled it a few times and placed it on his head. He walked off, leaving Mary Margaret to ponder whether or not there was some sanity hidden in his insanity.


	5. Chapter 5: Considerations

As she walked back to Granny's, Emma couldn't help smiling. She felt closer to Henry than ever. In fact, she felt closer to him than she'd ever felt with anyone. They'd made arrangements to see each other regularly and Emma found herself looking forward to the next Sunday already. Having something to look forward to certainly made life better, Emma realized, as she opened the door to Granny's.

She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but she found herself feeling sort of disappointed when she returned to the booth she had been sitting at and found that Jefferson was missing. He was crazy, for sure, and she still hadn't come close to forgiving him for everything he'd done, but strangely she felt like she wanted to talk to him though she hadn't a clue why.

Instead she saw Mary Margaret, sitting beside Emma's jacket. Emma sat down across from her and waved at her a few times before she finally noticed she was even there.

"Oh, sorry Emma! Got lost in thought for a moment." She then noticed that Emma seemed happy. She decided that it was safe to ask about Henry.

"How'd it go with Henry?"

"Good. Great, actually. He really is an incredible kid. I think we've found a way around Regina, so that we can see each other more often."

"I'm so happy for you. I think it's really great that you're starting to build a relationship with him. He was so lonely before you came here. I've certainly noticed a huge difference since you've been in his life."

"Yeah, how's he doing at school? I never think to ask him and he doesn't talk about it much. I know he loves his teacher but apart from that, I guess I still don't know much about his life."

Mary Margaret smiled at the compliment then took Emma's hand.

"You may not know much about his life yet, but at least you _care_ enough to take the time to find out. That's more than I can say for Regina."

She smiled and pulled her hand away to search through her purse.

"I actually wanted to give you something, now that you mention it. The kids are putting together portfolios of their best 10 assignments for Parent Night next month. I probably shouldn't have, but in a spur-of-the-moment decision, I typed you up an invitation. I mailed one to Regina of course, as I had to for all the parents, but I thought you might want to come too. And Henry would probably love that. Probably won't go over well with the mayor but who cares right? It's really all about what the kids want. What Henry wants. Here."

She handed an invitation to Emma.

"Thanks. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Hey, speaking of school, didn't you have to go back there to get those tests you had to mark? You didn't have to wait for me to get back, I'm sure Ruby would've made sure no one took my jacket."

Mary Margaret suddenly looked…guilty? Uncomfortable? Confused? Emma wasn't sure exactly sure how to classify it, but she looked _something_.

"Mary Margaret? What's up? Something wrong?"

Mary Margaret frowned, a slight crease appearing between her brows.

"No, no… It's just…Jefferson."

"Jefferson? You mean you stayed to chat after I left? That's…unexpected."

"Yeah. No. I guess we talked. He's so strange, Emma. I don't trust him; you should stay away from him. Yes. You should definitely stay away from him." She nodded firmly, as if to emphasize her point.

"Well I know _that_. But did something happen? Something else?"

Mary Margaret looked out the window for awhile, contemplating what to say. She couldn't explain what they'd talked about. She didn't fully understand it herself. Did she believe that he _did_ have a daughter? It was possible; he definitely seemed like he knew what it was like to be a parent. And if so, did she forgive him for what he did? Could she rationalize it, as he had? And then there was the fall – how could he have possibly survived that, gotten up, and walked away unharmed? She shook her head, trying to clear it of these thoughts she could not make sense of. This madman was playing with her, and now her mind was going to take the toll if she looked too deeply into what he said. Then something struck her.

"Emma, he called me Snow White. Do you remember? Just before you left?"

"Snow White? Isn't that who Henry thinks you are? From his stories?"

"Yeah. Wait – has Henry…Has Henry talked to Jefferson? "

Emma's eyes were wide with fear.

"Jefferson seemed to know a lot about those stories. Is there any other way he could have read that book? Before you gave it to Henry?"

"I've had it for as long as I can remember. Henry is the only person I've ever lent it to."


	6. Chapter 6: Mystery

It was Tuesday and Emma and Mary Margaret were sitting in miniature chairs in the classroom that Mary Margaret teaches in. School was out for the day and the last kid was heading home. Henry was calling his mom to tell her he would be late coming home because he had joined the Drama Club and they had their first meeting today.

"Man, I forgot how small kids are when they're ten years old. These chairs are so tiny."

"Yes, sometimes they seem so grown-up that it can be hard to remember how little they still are. Henry especially."

"I'm especially what? Little or grown-up?"

Henry had reappeared in the doorway, eyebrows raised in curiosity. Emma and Mary Margaret laughed.

"Both," they agreed. Henry rolled his eyes and sat down with them. Not looking out of place among the small chairs as the two women did.

"She bought it. We're good to go," he assured them.

"You know, this school could use some more extracurricular groups. Maybe I should actually start a Drama Club," Mary Margaret mused.

"You should! I bet a lot of kids would join, Miss Blanchard. I would join too. Then I could have a real reason to stay at school late on Tuesdays. And it could be fun."

"Alright as much as we all like the idea of a real Drama Club can we please get down to business?"

"Yeah sure, you wanted to talk to me about something?" Henry was suddenly nervous.

"Yes, but don't worry. You're not in trouble or anything. Emma has a little mystery she's working on and, as sheriff, needs your help."

"Okay…" Henry frowned, confused.

"Henry," Emma began, "Have you ever talked to a man named Jefferson? Jefferson…uh, I don't actually know his last name. But I can describe him: brown hair, gelled; expensive, sort of formal clothes; he wears a scarf; dimpled chin; dark and mysterious eyes-"

"-Emma! I think he gets the point."

Henry stared at her, eyebrows raised.

She flushed and looked down. Where had that come from? She hadn't realized she'd been looking that carefully at Jefferson. Then she realized it was part of her job to pay attention to detail. Especially if that person was suspicious to her. She finally looked up at Henry again as he began to speak.

"I know who you mean. He's kind of Storybrooke's mystery. He never comes out of his house, ever. Wait, Emma, you've met him? What's he like? The kids at school say that no one even lives in that huge house, that it's really just haunted but no one is brave enough to actually go check. But he's real? Why doesn't he come out? Did he say why? Can I meet him?"

"Whoa… kid, slow down. I'm supposed to be the one interrogating you! So, you really have never met him before? Ever?"

"Nope. Never even seen him. Why?"

Emma could tell that he wasn't lying; he'd really never met the man before.

"Well, he seems to know…about your stories."

Henry stared at her with wide eyes.

"He knows about the curse? Emma, you have to take me to see him. You _have to_!"

"Not a chance kid, he's…he's not well. He might be dangerous." Emma looked to Mary Margaret for support on that one. She definitely did not want to get into _that _story with Henry. But she had to give him some sort of reason to stay away or he might go looking for him on his own.

"She's right Henry; he's very confused and upset. He probably stays at home so that he doesn't get scared and end up doing something he regrets, like hurting someone."

Henry tilted his head and contemplated this information.

"Fine. I'll stay away from him. But as long as you promise to tell me one thing, what did he say was his real identity?"

Emma closed her eyes. This kid was smart, she'd give him that. Reluctantly she answered, "The Mad Hatter."

His eyes lit up. "From Alice in Wonderland. Emma let's go to your office! You said you had some mystery you wanted me to help you solve. It's Jefferson, right? If we can't go talk to him, then we can at least try to figure him out by researching him. My book's in your office still right? And you have the town records? Let's go, let's go!"

He looked so excited that Emma couldn't bear to say no. What could the harm possibly be? They'd hang out in her office and read some of his stories – so what? And the kid had a point – there were town records on every resident of Storybrooke that she had access to. Mostly just home and work addresses and records of any relatives, living or deceased – wait a minute!

"Henry, what time did you say you'd be home?"

"Five. We've got a half hour."

"Let's go."

Emma and an ecstatic Henry left Mary Margaret sitting confused in her child-sized chair, not fully understanding what just happened.


	7. Chapter 7: Discoveries

Henry was so absorbed in his stories that it took Emma a few attempts to get his attention. Finally she settled on making a paper airplane and throwing it at him. It landed perfectly on top of the page he was reading and he looked up, smiling. For a brief moment Emma got distracted, and couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if the boy smiling at her was hers. Really, legally hers. She put the thought out of her head. It was impossible. For now, she'd take what she could get. And that happened to be another few minutes with him. She'd treasure every second of it.

"Henry, I think I might have found something. There might be truth to what Jefferson told me. I looked up Jefferson's records, and nothing. No known relatives on file. But then, I thought I'd look up Paige, you know, your friend from school? That's who he claims is his daughter. And Henry -" She was suddenly very serious. "Swear on Operation Cobra that you won't tell anyone this; it has to stay strictly between you and me, understand?"

Henry nodded vigorously. "I swear."

"It says under her records that her parents aren't her birthparents. She was adopted, and her parents remain unknown."

Henry's eyes widened. He suddenly flipped a few pages in his book and pointed to a picture.

"Emma I think I found something too. That description you gave me, well, it looks an awful lots like it describes the Mad Hatter. Come look."

Emma walked over and peered over Henry's shoulder.

"You know, it _does_ look a lot like him. Messier hair and weirder clothes but the same… intensity. Same features, right down to the dimpled chin. Henry this is seriously weird."

He looked up at her, grinning from ear to ear. He looked pleased with himself.

"I told you Emma, the people in Storybrooke are definitely the same characters from the book. The curse _is_ real!"

Just then Emma noticed the clock.** 4:56**_**.**_

"Shoot, kid we gotta get back to the school! Your mom will be picking you up at any minute from your 'Drama Club'."

Thinking on her feet, Emma opened an old trunk beside her desk, pulled out the contents and dumped them into Henry's arms as he stared questioningly at her.

"Don't ask questions, I'll explain in the car."

Emma dropped Henry off at the back door of the school and took off toward home with a quick wave to Henry.

Panting, Henry arrived in the classroom to see his irate mother and poor Mary Margaret, who'd taken the brunt of her anger. He glanced at his watch: 5:02. Regina turned to face him as he ran up to Mary Margaret.

"Miss Blanchard, sorry that took so long. Miss Edgars said we could borrow her costume box in two weeks, once she's done with her class's performance. She gave us this for next week though, she said she didn't need it."

He dropped an old sheriff's uniform on her desk.

Catching on, Mary Margaret played along.

"Thank you for volunteering to ask her, Henry. I know the other kids were a bit nervous but she's really not that bad. Speaking of, I let them go a bit early once they chose parts because their parents were here already and they were hungry for dinner. I hope you're okay with playing the part of the travelling salesman?"

"Sounds great, I'll write up some lines for next week. Thanks Miss Blanchard, see you tomorrow!"

Regina scowled but couldn't think of anything to say, so took Henry's hand and lectured him about making her wait all the way to her car.

Mary Margaret sighed once they'd left the room. That had been unpleasant, but at least Mayor Mills hadn't seemed too suspicious once Henry had offered up an explanation as to his absence. She began to pack up her purse to head home when she noticed someone leaning against the doorway.

"Emma?"

"Don't worry, I circled around the neighbourhood until I was sure she'd be gone. She has no idea I was with Henry tonight."

"She better not. Emma, you have to be careful. If I'm going to cover for you to see Henry, you can't be late. She's bound to figure it out, we're just lucky she didn't this time."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I'll set an alarm or something. Sometimes I just lose track of time when I'm with him. I don't get to see him that much and you know, time flies. I just came by to thank you, and ask you if you wanted to go out for dinner tonight."

She nodded; going behind the mayor's back was stressful and neither of them felt much like cooking tonight.

"But Emma, what was that all about?"

"What? Henry and I were just conducting a little investigation. It's not going to hurt anyone. He's just a curious kid and this happens to be perfectly innocent. No one would question it or care if they found out we'd been looking at his records."

"Jefferson might. He's _dangerous_ Emma; I don't know why I even have to remind you of that, you were there! You know he's been watching you. What if he realized what you and Henry were doing tonight? You don't think he'd care?"

Emma shuddered. She'd forgotten about that. She knew one thing though: she had to talk to him soon. She just had opened up a whole new set of questions with her discovery.


	8. Chapter 8: Losing the Upper Hand

It was Friday night when Emma finally got an opportunity to pay Jefferson a visit. She couldn't go during work hours, obviously. While Jefferson was a shady character, she had no formal reason for investigating him. She could have gone any evening really, but she waited until Friday because Mary Margaret had offered to babysit for Ashley and Sean so they could go on a date. This meant Mary Margaret would be at their place and have her hands full with a baby, so she would have no idea that Emma was about to do something incredibly dangerous that she would definitely have disapproved of.

Emma felt oddly like a teenager sneaking out while her parents were busy: nervous, but exhilarated. She waited about 20 minutes after Mary Margaret left, to be sure she wouldn't come back in case she'd forgotten something, then she got in her car and drove to the station.

She unlocked her office door, avoided turning on any lights (in case that sneaky Jefferson was watching) and unlocked the drawer she used to store her gun. She secured it in a holster around her waist and zipped up her jacket to hide it from view. After locking up, Emma braced herself for what she was about to do, then got in the car and drove before she could second-guess herself.

Arriving at the doorstep of Jefferson's mansion, she took a deep breath and raised her fist to knock. Of course, Jefferson opened the door before she could do so and nearly gave her a heart attack.

"What's this?" He grabbed her gun before she even knew what was happening. _Damn it Emma, so much for having the upper hand, _she thought. Instead of turning it against her, however, he surprised her by tossing it on the couch in his living room.

"You were watching me in the Sheriff's office again!" she accused him.

"No, but I was watching you walk up to my front door. Difficult walking with a gun strapped to your hip. Careful, or people will start to notice you still haven't gotten used to carrying one. No point in carrying one if no one actually believes that you'll use it, is there?"

"I would." But she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Jefferson or herself.

"That's alright, if ever there's a telescope handy I'll tell people to watch out." He winked at Emma, further infuriating her. As if it wasn't enough that he always seemed to be one step ahead of her, now he was teasing her. Unacceptable.

"Well, no point in leaving now that you're here. I imagine you want to ask me something as I can't think of another reason you'd voluntarily visit me?"

He gestured for her to come in, and she did. He got her a chair and some tea (which she refused for obvious reasons). Despite the offer of the chair, Emma preferred to stand. She hoped it would make her seem more intimidating but she seriously doubted that. He was in his home territory and she was without her gun and the element of surprise she had hoped she would have. He stood in front of her, pacing. He seemed to do that often, Emma recalled.

"Well? What is it?" He seemed intense, almost verging on hyper and she wondered if he was alright or if he was about to experience one of his "mad moments". If so, she didn't want to be there so he could attack her again, but at the same time she found herself concerned for him. She was glad he seemed to have forgotten about the gun.

"It's Henry. Have you been spying on him? He says he's never met you, but you seem to know about these fairy tales that he reads. And there's another thing: I looked up Paige's records in the city archives that I have in my office, and she _was _adopted, but there's no date of adoption and no known parents listed. Could you maybe, I don't know, explain how she came to be placed in that home? And maybe some details of her mother? If she ever finds out she was adopted and searches for her birthparents, I'd like to have some answers."

"I'd never talked to Henry until just yesterday when he called me on the phone. And I still have no idea what he looks like, so no, I haven't been watching him. Nor you, for that matter. I promised Mary Margaret I'd stay away and I have. And as for Grace's mother, that's not for you to know. Just as you weren't ready to tell Henry about his father, I'm not ready to tell Grace about her mother and me. And let's hope she never finds out."

"I don't understand, wouldn't that be a good thing? Then you could have some sort of relationship?"

"Emma, you don't understand, and unless you start believing, you never will. I'm one of the only ones who remember our world. If I tried to explain to her what our life was like, and why I had to leave but failed to return…"

He glanced down at the shadows they made and didn't look up.

"She would never understand, and without understanding, she could never forgive me."

His voice was practically a whisper and when he finally looked up; his eyes were glistening with tears.

Emma was nervous. This conversation was definitely progressing into crazy territory, but at the same time he just seemed sad and truthful, not dangerous. She suddenly noticed he was very close to her.

"Emma," he said, as he looked into her eyes. "Please believe. Henry's right, you're our only hope. I tried going back, and the hat worked, it did! But the doors to the other worlds were locked, something which I have never encountered before and must be due to the curse."

He looked suddenly puzzled, but recovered quickly.

"I want my life back. The one where I have my daughter. Because a life without her isn't a life at all. Emma, please try. Is it really so difficult to believe in magic? Aren't there some things that just can't be explained? Like us."

At that, he leaned in and touched his lips to Emma's, softly. Her eyes fluttered closed and she returned the kiss for a brief second before her sanity returned.


End file.
